Social control

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action. The Invention of Capitalism: How a Self-Sufficient Peasantry was Whipped Into Industrial Wage Slaves. “…everyone but an idiot knows that the lower classes must be kept poor, or they will never be industrious.”

—Arthur Young; 1771 Our popular economic wisdom says that capitalism equals freedom and free societies, right? Well, if you ever suspected that the logic is full of shit, then I’d recommend checking a book called The Invention of Capitalism, written by an economic historian named Michael Perelmen, who’s been exiled to Chico State, a redneck college in rural California, for his lack of freemarket friendliness. And Perelman has been putting his time in exile to damn good use, digging deep into the works and correspondence of Adam Smith and his contemporaries to write a history of the creation of capitalism that goes beyond superficial The Wealth of Nations fairy tale and straight to the source, allowing you to read the early capitalists, economists, philosophers, clergymen and statesmen in their own words. And it ain’t pretty. While another pamphleteer wrote:
What Is Marxism? (Karl Marx + Super Mario Bros.) - 8-Bit Philosophy.

I’ve found myself a well-paying gig in the engineering industry, and life finally feels like it’s returning to normal after my nine months of traveling. Because I had been living quite a different lifestyle while I was away, this sudden transition to 9-to-5 existence has exposed something about it that I overlooked before. Since the moment I was offered the job, I’ve been markedly more careless with my money. Not stupid, just a little quick to pull out my wallet. I’m not talking about big, extravagant purchases.

In hindsight I think I’ve always done this when I’ve been well-employed — spending happily during the “flush times.”
On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century’s end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour work week.

There’s every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn’t happen. Instead, technology has been marshaled, if anything, to figure out ways to make us all work more. In order to achieve this, jobs have had to be created that are, effectively, pointless. Why did Keynes’ promised utopia – still being eagerly awaited in the ‘60s – never materialise? So what are these new jobs, precisely? These are what I propose to call “bullshit jobs.” It’s as if someone were out there making up pointless jobs just for the sake of keeping us all working. The answer clearly isn’t economic: it’s moral and political. I think this is actually a pretty accurate description of the moral dynamics of our own economy.

A Message from StrikeMag.org:
Turn It OFF! The Massively Manipulative Marketing Meme. By Zen Gardner Contributing Writer for Wake Up World The massively manipulative marketing meme may seem to be common knowledge to most, but to what degree?

Do people really see the depths and breadths these conniving controllers are willing to stoop to in order to control the mass mind according to their greedy, parasitic intentions? Here are a few examples that will resonate and help plant your feet squarely in the camp of the observing enlightened. These exposures portray clearly what we’re witnessing daily in the constructed matricized world around us, and why we should steer clear of it.

First, an overview of the subtle yet obvious trickery of modern advertising. Pay close attention! It’s not as simple as it may appear and you’ll soon see these memes and themes all around you in a fresh and empowered fashion. Turn it off at the source – you. The Generic Brand – How advertising works – “This is a generic brand video…” The Cleverly Constructed Diamond Illusion Not so. Stay free. Love, Zen.